‘Train Daddy’ Andy Byford to Oversee Amtrak’s High-Speed Rail Efforts

“Former NYC Transit President and beloved ‘Train Daddy’ Andy Byford will join Amtrak next month as an executive vice president,” reports David Meyer in an exclusive for Streetsblog NYC, prompting renewed optimism on the part of rail supporters. The former Transport for London head will oversee Amtrak’s expansion of high-speed rail in the United States.

“The cheery Brit’s tenure in New York was marked by increased on-time subway performance, the approval of $40 billion in proposed spending to modernize city subways and buses, and his very public squabbles and eventual falling out with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was later forced to resign in a sexual harassment scandal.”

Lisa Daglian, executive director of the MTA’s in-house Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee, praised the move, saying that Byford has “​​lived and worked in places where high speed rail actually exists and is in a great position to help bring it here,” adding that Byford “understands the complexity of the system and its components — and mostly, how to put riders first.”